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EIOPA published the Final Reports on the public consultation related to the first set of the draft Guidelines for Solvency II.
The guidelines cover different Solvency II areas: own funds; the standard formula SCR; technical provisions; group solvency; internal models; ORSA and governance; supervisory review process; equivalence.
EIOPA intends to issue the Guidelines in all the official EU languages in the first quarter of 2015. Afterwards the National Competent Authorities (NCAs) will need to confirm to EIOPA within 2 months their compliance or intention to comply with these Guidelines.
One of the main aims of the Guidelines is to specify the supervisory expectations related to the proper fulfilment of requirements laid down in the Solvency II Directive and Implementing Measures. Due to current diverging practice in many areas, EIOPA puts a particular emphasis on achieving convergence in key areas of Solvency II. For example, in the area of own funds they contribute towards a level playing field in terms of eligible funding as well as consistently high quality own-funds.
The convergence in calculation methods of technical provisions should contribute to the comparability of the value of the liabilities of insurers and is essential for policyholder protection. Or also, harmonisation in the calculation of group solvency should enhance the efficiency and transparency of cross-border activity. It should be noted that in many cases, stakeholders require more guidance or more detail, and this also varies according to the nature, scale and complexity of the undertakings’ business. While pursuing the objective of establishing convergent practices in a currently non-convergent regulatory and supervisory reality, EIOPA has aimed to find a balance in the different expectations from stakeholders.